COVID-19 UPDATES

The latest figures released by the NYS Department of Health show that there are now 15,887 confirmed coronavirus cases in Westchester County. There are 6,413 cases in Rockland, 3,865 in Orange, 1,395 in Dutchess, 403 in Putnam, 422 in Ulster, and 279 in Sullivan County. There are 149,316 confirm cased in NYS (as of 4/8/20). (Taken from United Way of Westchester and Putnam)

March 20, 2020 – The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, and clients to our facilities are our most pressing priorities. At WestCOP, we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and have implemented precautionary measures across our business and facilities.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 18, 2020. It will take effect no later than 15 days after enactment and will remain in place until December 31, 2020. This law takes emergency action during the Coronavirus epidemic to provide both family medical leave and paid sick time for individuals that need to care for infected family members or children whose daycare or school has closed.

In an effort to help safeguard and well-being of all our employees,volunteers and clients we are following all federal, state, counties andlocal health agencies’ guidelines on COVID-19 and are requiring thatyou do not enter our facilities if any of the following apply to you:

Fever

Shortness of breath

Now onset persistent cough

Nasal congestion & runny nose

Sore throat

You are caring for or have been in close contact with a person who has a possible or confirmed case of COVID-19

If you are unable to confirm this, we respectfully ask that you refrain from entering any of our facilities.

Working together and following the guidelines can help prevent the spread of this virus. We should all remember to clean our hands often. Wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time.

OPERATIONAL UPDATE-COVID19

March 16, 2020 – The transmission of COVID-19 continues to increase in the New York Metropolitan area and around the world. We are grappling with an issue of enormous scale, both on a human impact and a financial level, our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the outbreak of this virus.

At WestCOP, we are working around the clock to ensure that all of our stakeholders are well informed and protected. We appreciate your understanding that some of the services we provide may be temporarily interrupted during this time. While we are currently trying to maintain regular operations in some cases that may not be possible.

The leadership team wants to thank you for supporting our agency. We have a 55 years history of caring for people and helping them change their lives. This is the core of what we do and we are continuing to do just that.We are privileged to serve you and the communities in which we serve.

YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY IS OUR PRIORITY

March 13, 2020 – We have all spent the last several days and weeks learning about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it is impacting our communities and world. For us at WestCOP, that means understanding how it affects our employees, volunteers, clients, and communities, and then making the necessary adjustments to our work and operations.

The leadership team at WestCOP has one simple objective that guides us: keeping you, our employees, volunteers, and clients safe. This has been at the center of our conversations every step of the way. With that said, we are making several moves in our agency in response to the threat of the coronavirus.

We are working with our cleaning companies to ramp up cleaning services at our locations and are encouraging all Managers to install hand sanitizer at the front entrances of their building/ programs.

WestCOP is closely following the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidelines and recommendations on the steps we can take to help prevent the spread of the virus. We have shared specific instructions in prior communications on the importance of washing your hands and staying home if you are feeling sick or are returning from an area of the world identified as posing a coronavirus- related risk. Per CDC recommendations, we will ask employees who have traveled to such locations or have been exposed to others who have traveled to such locations to self-quarantine for 14 days. We have implemented some (COVID-19) screening questions that our staff is now asking all our volunteers, clients and visitors before entering our facilities. It’s our goal to ensure that all of our stakeholders are well informed and protected.

WestCOP will continue to closely monitor the situation and do all we can to protect you and our clients.

March 12, 2020 – Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc. (WestCOP) appeared on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt on Thursday night. Members of the National Guard arrived in New Rochelle, New York, earlier that day to help distribute food at New Rochelle Community Action Program, which is one of several WestCOP locations in Westchester County. The food will go to families and students from the three New Rochelle public schools that are closed in the containment area, namely, the roughly 2,800 students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.

Click here to access the full broadcast (WestCOP appears at roughly the 4:12 mark). To read about the story, click here.

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We have all spent the last several days and weeks learning about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it is impacting our communities and world. For us at WestCOP, that means understanding how it affects our employees, volunteers, clients, and communities, and then making the necessary adjustments to our work and operations.

The leadership team at WestCOP has one simple objective that guides us: keeping you, our employees, volunteers, and clients safe. This has been at the center of our conversations every step of the way. With that said, we are making several moves in our agency in response to the threat of the coronavirus.

We are working with our cleaning companies to ramp up cleaning services at our locations and are encouraging all Managers to install hand sanitizer at the front entrances of their building/programs.

WestCOP is closely following the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidelines and recommendations on the steps we can take to help prevent the spread of the virus. We have shared specific instructions in prior communications on the importance of washing your hands and staying home if you are feeling sick or are returning from an area of the world identified as posing a coronavirus-related risk. Per the CDC recommendations, we will ask employees who have traveled to such locations or have been exposed to others who have traveled to such locations to self-quarantine for 14 days. We have implemented some (COVID-19) screening questions that our staff is now asking all our clients, volunteers, and visitors before entering our facilities. It’s our goal to ensure that all our employees, volunteers, clients, and visitors are well informed and protected.

WestCOP will continue to closely monitor the situation and do all we can to protect you and our clients.